Each Loss Breaks a Pattern: A Shiva Prayer

Baruch Atah Adonai

Ruach Ha Olam

Blessed One-ness, Breath of the Universe

Breathing us in 
Breathing us out.

Each loss breaks a pattern.

We remember and we pray.

We remember our loved one, _____________(name)

Beloved _______________(relationship)

Each loss breaks a pattern,
And we remember them.

We remember them

Because they gave us to ourselves,

We remember them

Because we loved each other,

And we remember

Because, well,
That is our job.

Every loss breaks a pattern,

And we pray.

We pray and place ourselves in front of the fear,

We place ourselves in front of the anger,

We place ourselves in front of the grief,

We pray and delight in our memories

We pray and listen for music that reminds us there will be joy again.

We pray for the long repair that happens after the patterns break.

And we give thanks for the ancient traditions, 

Telling the story even when we can’t. 

Hallelu Yah, breathing in,

Remembering us when we cannot.

Hallelu Yah, breathing out,

Praying with us when we feel alone.

Amen

The Rock

Let me speak:

Sleeping at this place

Or at least trying.

A stone for my pillow,

There is no comfort here.

I obsess and worry,

I have made such a mess.

I see steps that could take me away.

There could be happiness,

There could be One-ness,

But not yet.

I want so much.

I want to be of help,

I want to do good,

I want to experience everything,

I want to be wanted.

I watch so many others make the effort

But I don't know what it leads to.

I stare through the bars of every unlocked gate,
But I don't go in.

What if all it leads to is oblivion?

Only pain, then nothing?
No one will remember a thing.

I'm an idiot,

A fraud!

Over confident and messy,

Brash and hurtful,

Selfish and false,

No one needs me.
Soon it will not matter.

Amidst all this self-pity

I have one thing to hold onto.

Yes,

It's that stone pillow

For my hard hard head.

It tried to make me comfortable,
In its own rocky way.
I asked for a place to sleep and it said,

Here I am.

In the morning I will be exhausted.

I probably will have slept but I won't remember having done so.

I will move on, because that's what I do.

I will leave behind the stone pillow
In this place

As my assertion

That I saw what there was to see,

That I considered my options

And that maybe I will return,

And maybe not,

To this rock.  

For this is not a trifling thing. 

A Birkat HaMazon - Grace After A Meal

All who sit around these tables,

Friends and strangers,

In peaceful conversation

And pleasant disagreement,

We take this moment to acknowledge

Whenever we eat together

That we are blessed

And, in our turn,

We bless.

Blessed be the creator and the created,

Blessed be the sustainers and the sustained.

Blessed be the eaters and the eaten,

Blessed be the feeders and the fed.

Blessed be the cooks and the meal,

Blessed be the drinkers and the water.

Blessed be the farmers and the produce,

Blessed be the baker and the bread.

Blessed be them all.

Blessed be the doers and the done upon,

Blessed be the freers and the freed.

Blessed be the leaders and the led,

Blessed be the sellers and the sold. 

Blessed be the prayers and the prayed for,

Blessed be the servers and the served.

Blessed be the teachers and the taught,

Blessed be the tellers and the told.

Blessed be them all.

Blessing us, One-ness,

With the biggest and the smallest of blessings:

We do not lack.

Blessing us, One-ness,

With a history, ancient and current,

That is never boring.

We give thanks

Blessing us, One-ness,

With boundless compassion 

For all people.

We pray for even a fraction of that empathy

That we may feel the joy and the suffering of all who surround us

And so that they may also feel ours

So that we all may act accordingly and save the world. 

Blessed One-ness

Making peace

Sustaining wholeness

For each other

And everyone else, too. 

Amen

God's Voice? Ten Suggestions: A drash on Yitro

© Trisha Arlin

We may not be prophets.
We may not be able to hear God's voice,

But when we open up our books, our Torah, and read

Then the One-ness speaks to us:

1. Know your history.  Know that you are all connected in the One-ness.  Know that it is possible to live in community in love and kindness.
2. Don't worship false idols.
3. Learn that you can disagree about deeply held beliefs without being flippant or disrespectful.
4. Rest at least one day a week and make sure that everyone around you gets to rest as well.  Know that this rest is deep and holy.
5. Honor the elderly. 
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not cheat on your loved ones.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not lie.
10. Do not let the desire for material things rule your life.

Rules to live by, plain common sense...

We know these things, everyone knows these.
But if we know this through Torah

Then perhaps we are in connection

With the holy

(Whatever that means
To us

On any given day)

And perhaps then

We hear God's voice,
And we are heard as well,
In holy conversation.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה
אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶך-הָעולָם
אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו
וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסק  בְּדִבְרֵי-תורָה.

Blessed One-ness, who makes us holy with mitzvot, blessing us with the ability to know ourselves with the words of Torah.

A Prayer of Gratitude

© Trisha Arlin

I am so thankful. 

To be in the One-ness.

I give thanks for whatever love and kindness I have received

And even more for the love and kindness I have given.

I give thanks for those who have forgiven me

And to those who have asked me for my forgiveness.

I give thanks for those who work to sustain us

And those who work for sustainability.

May I never take any of this for granted.

Blessed  HaMakom,  this Place is so amazing.
God is goodness, and good things happen.